Qualified personnel

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I think the term qualified personnel needs to be stricter to state they must pass a test on electrical knowledge and safety. This test should be required to be kept on hand, and retested every few years. Wright now we have people working on electrical equipment whop can barely use a meter. One put a ratchet and socket on live side of disconnect, and another was checking phase to phase for a mercury relay that was malfunctioning. He kept telling me and another electrician it was dead we kept testing phase to ground and getting 280V. This is because work requires almost nothing to work on electrical equipment, and even our electricians are not required to pass any test and few know NEC. So if NEC would change the definition of qualified personnel it would force places like mine to test people and help keep us all safer.
:roll:
 

rbalex

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
Occupation
Professional Electrical Engineer
Re: Qualified personnel

Please review the Welcome and restate your Proposal in that format. Right now you have only expressed an opinion that CMP 1 wouldn't likely deal with.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Re: Qualified personnel

OTOH, it would add an extra layer of BS to an already difficult work environment.

A lot of industrial maint guys are quite safe around electricity and are quite competent to work on such items, yet might well have difficulty passing such a test.

A lot of electricians I have worked around scare me, regradless of their journeyman card and the test they passed.

I think its best if the building owner/operator determines just who has access to such things. they are in the position to know in most cases and its their butt on the line.
 

coulter

Senior Member
Re: Qualified personnel

These are all pretty much maintenance issues. The NEC doesn't tend to deal with that. "Qualified", "Competent", required training, and maintenance issues are generally dealt with under OSHA regulations.

State law here say new construction that is done to the NEC requires a Certificate of Fitness (journeyman license). Doesn't say anything about maintenance.

Generally, anybody can change out motors, light fixtures, switches, receptacles, motor starters - un-wiring and wiring as necessary. Generally the line is drawn when conduit or wire has to be replaced - that's new work done per the NEC.

Design, installation, even commissioning are NEC issues. After that it's maintenance - check the OSHA regs. Adding another layer of regulation isn't going to make the non-compliers wakeup.

carl
 
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